T99

Music business marketing term, coined 1996, for a collection of electronic dance-music styles, including techno, jungle, and trip-hop. The commercial failure of early-’90s dance acts such as T99, Prodigy, and Utah Saints was seemingly forgotten in the industry’s rush to find a replacement for waning alternative rock bands.

MTV obligingly got behind the “new” movement, promoting electronic music wherever possible, and even adopting a more “techno” graphic identity. One early 1997 MTV promo clip featured Perry Farrell: “It’s very popular right now to try to entice people into dancing,” said the singer, “and I think it’s so healthy.”

A next wave of “electronica” acts, including artists like the Orbital and The Future Sound of London were exposed by MTV’s cult show Amp, and some of the new acts edged toward the mainstream: the Chemical Brothers recorded with Liam Gallagher of Oasis and Prodigy added a punky singer named Keith Flint.… Continue reading →